Cut Loose
by Phantom SunsSong
Summary: Ed arrives back in Resembool and gets news he wasn't expecting; Al and Winry are getting married. Ed/Win, Al/Win, takes place long after Al got his body back.


**A/N**: I was looking through some stuff on my laptop and found this. I decided to go ahead and post it, see what people think, I guess. I'm honestly not big on romantic angst and whatnot, or really, romance in general, so this is kinda new for me. I just got the idea, and the urge to write, and this was what happened. So, yeah, if it sucks, now you know why I don't write romance.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own FMA.

* * *

**Cut Loose**

The train pulled in with a low, tired whistle to Resembool Station. It wasn't a popular stop; a single passenger stepped out. It was a man, his long golden hair pulled back into a high ponytail, and stubble on his chin. His clothes were simple, a long sleeved burgundy button down shirt and black pants, with white gloves covering each hand. He had the air of a traveler, a wayward feeling that led one to believe he rarely stayed in one place. The stationmaster recognized him immediately.

"Ah, Mr. Elric!" He greeted warmly. "You've come for the wedding, then?" Mr. Elric gave the man a puzzled look, halting his walk forward towards the single dirt road that ran the length of the rural town.

"…Wedding?" He asked, looking surprised.

"Yes," the stationmaster answered, looking slightly uneasy now that he knew the other man hadn't heard about it. "Your brother and the young Miss Rockbell are to be betrothed today…" A look of alarm raced briefly through the man's golden eyes, but then he smiled.

"Are they? Then I had best hurry." As Mr. Elric turned away, the stationmaster could only just detect the pain in his voice.

* * *

The wedding was to be held outdoors, on the hills. It was a lovely summer day, the sun shining brightly with only the faintest wisps of cloud obscuring the sapphire sky. Winry couldn't have chosen a better day if she tried.

She trotted lightly down the front steps of her home, the place she had inherited when Granny Pinako died. Her dress was rather plain for a wedding, just a summer dress with thin straps and a flowing skirt, but Winry wasn't one for lots of frills. And Al hadn't minded the choice.

It would still be a few hours before the actual wedding, and Al was still getting into his baby blue suit, so she could spare a moment outside before tradition dictated she disappear back inside, so as not to meet her fiancé before they were to be wed. She was getting anxious, truth be told. Even with the fine weather, she felt like something was going to go wrong. She happened a glance up the dusty road and recognized the figure walking along it, and immediately knew her suspicions were confirmed. She felt her heart flutter at the sight of him. She should have known he'd pick today, of all days, to show up.

"Hello, Winry," Ed said when he was close enough.

"Hi, Ed," she replied, looking up apprehensively, since now, when they were both twenty-eight, he was finally taller than her.

"You and Al are getting married?" Winry winced at the words, and the false cheer they held.

"Yes," she said, now looking down.

"Why?" There was the pain, in that one choked syllable.

"Because," she answered, "I got tired of waiting." Unbidden, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked back up. She could see them shining in his, but the fool he was, he would never cry.

"You'd leave for months," she continued. "Sometimes a year. I'm sorry, Ed, but I can't wait around for you any longer. I have my own life to live, with or without you in it." Silence followed her words.

"You could have told me," he croaked after several long minutes. "I would have stayed, would have—"

"No, you wouldn't have," Winry cut him off. "You never would have been happy, tied down in a little place like this. I know it, and you know it, Ed. We always hoped, but it was never going to work out." She paused, and when he didn't say anything, she continued. "I love you, Ed. I probably always will. But there's some things I can't do. And waiting around for a fairytale to come true is one of them. Rather than sit with the heartbreak, I'm cutting you loose." Without warning, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. For a moment, startled gold eyes stared into sad blue ones, but finally, they softened. After a long moment, they parted, and both stood in a sad kind of silence.

"… Are you sure you want to be kissing another man right before your wedding?" Ed asked finally. Winry smiled wryly.

"Somehow, I don't think Al will mind much." The quiet reigned again, until finally Winry broke it. "Stay for the wedding, if you can. Goodbye, Ed." And without a backwards glance, she disappeared back into the house. Ed stood for a moment, remembering the kiss, and then her words. She'd cut him free. He had nothing holding him back, now, and the rest of his life as an alchemist for the people ahead of him. It was what he had wanted, he realized, but why did leaving her have to hurt so much? He shook his head slightly. He couldn't stay for the wedding, not even for Al. He couldn't look at her again. He turned and walked back to the train station.

A week later, Winry and Al received flowers and a card of congratulations from a town out west, signed 'Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist'. Winry just smiled when Al sighed, saying he wished that his brother could have come, instead of sending them a gift. She didn't say anything about him being there before the wedding.


End file.
